I. Field of Use
The present application relates to the field of recreational watercraft. More specifically, the present invention relates to a multi-use watercraft that can be configured for various watercraft activities, such as paddle boarding, kayaking, sailing, fishing, canoeing, catamaraning, etc.
II. Description of the Related Art
Recreational watercraft activities have been popular for many years in the United States and abroad. Millions of people enjoy activities such as canoeing, kayaking, sailing, fishing, catamaraning and, more recently, paddle boarding. Each one of these activities requires the use of a particular type of watercraft specially designed for each particular activity. For example, canoes are designed for a single type of activity, that is, canoeing, and generally cannot be used for activities such as paddle boarding or sailing. Often times individuals who enjoy one type of water-based activity typically enjoy other water-based activities as well.
There are a number of drawbacks to individuals interested in participating in a number of water-based activities. For example, such individuals must obtain a watercraft particularly suited for each type of water-based activity that the individuals engage in. Thus, participating in multiple, water-based activities may be an expensive proposition, as at least one type of watercraft must be purchased or rented for each type of water-based activity. Further, watercraft used in the aforementioned activities tends to be large and bulky, requiring large amounts of storage space. Additionally, transportation of such watercraft is usually limited to one type of watercraft or the other, for example, on an automobile roof-mounted rack or even a tow trailer, due to the large size and bulk of each type of watercraft. Finally, water conditions might not be suitable for a selected water-based activity, unknown to an individual until he or she arrives on the waterfront. Thus, it may be determined only after arrival at a waterfront that water conditions favor sailing, but not canoeing. In this example, an individual may have transported a canoe to the waterfront, only to find out that the water and wind conditions favor sailing.
What is needed, then, is a watercraft design that can alleviate the problems mentioned above.